Brush fire battle a tough one

Acres burned for more than 24 hours after start

Updated 10:26 pm, Monday, April 8, 2013

Argyle

Firefighters were Monday afternoon able to extinguish a massive brush fire that charred several acres of land in this Washington County community for more than 24 hours, according to Argyle Fire Chief Cameron Monroe.

The conflagration started at an unattended campfire in the woods near routes 197 and 44 and quickly spread into a nearby storage facility for used tires, officials said.

No evacuations were ordered, but as of Monday afternoon officials said around 20 acres had been burned by the blaze. Washington County's public safety department warned people that the smoke could be hazardous because of the burning tires.

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Officials said Sunday's high winds helped fuel the blaze.

Late Monday, Monroe said that his crew would be monitoring hot spots.

"There is no danger of fire spread anymore," he said, noting that the fire was out around 3:20 p.m. Monday. The blaze was reported around 1 p.m. Sunday, Monroe added. One person had been fined in connection with the unattended campfire as part of the ongoing investigation, said the fire chief.